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Movies / On DVD / Deep Cover
Deep Cover

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Deep Cover (1992)

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84 %
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Reviews Counted:19

Fresh:16

Rotten:3

Average Rating:6.6/10

Runtime: 1 hr 47 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: Made during the black film boom that followed the success of BOYZ N THE HOOD, DEEP COVER is that rare and beautiful thing--a genuinely smart action movie. Screenwriters Michael Tolkin (THE PLAYER)... Made during the black film boom that followed the success of BOYZ N THE HOOD, DEEP COVER is that rare and beautiful thing--a genuinely smart action movie. Screenwriters Michael Tolkin (THE PLAYER) and Henry Bean have written a clever but gritty, hard-hitting script, and director Bill Duke (A RAGE IN HARLEM) brings just the right tone to the material. It has an appropriately gloomy palette of glaring reds and dark blues and a dissonant, hip-hop-influenced score that enhances the sardonic mood. Laurence Fishburne narrates and stars in the challenging role of Russell Stevens Jr., an undercover cop who finds himself slipping onto the wrong side of the law. The federal agent who runs the undercover operation (Charles Martin Smith) tells Stevens to enjoy his drug-dealer lifestyle. And when the motives of the government Stevens works for come into question, the line between cop and criminal gets even more blurred. Stevens, the somber cop, has the perfect counterpoint in David Jason (Jeff Goldblum), the hilariously manic crooked lawyer. While Stevens is tormented and questions the morality of his every action, the formerly sheltered Jason is at first terrified, then enthralled by becoming a drug kingpin and a killer. [More]

Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum, Victoria Dillard, Charles Martin Smith

Starring: Laurence Fishburne, Jeff Goldblum, Victoria Dillard, Charles Martin Smith, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gregory Sierra, Clarence Williams, Sydney Lassick, Glynn Turman, Kamala Lopez

Director: Bill Duke

Director: Bill Duke
Screenwriter: Michael Tolkin, Henry Bean
Producer: Pierre David, Henry Bean
Composer: Michel Colombier

[See More Credits]

Reviews for Deep Cover

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1 - 19 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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In addition to Fishburne, it gives us a first-rate soundtrack, a clutch of splendid cameos, fine, grainy direction from Duke, and much pointed stuff about the hypocrisy behind the USA's so-called war against drugs.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Stephen Garrett
Stephen Garrett
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Cool, and deeply underrated.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Smart and stylish, it also has scenes of crackling violence and dramaturgy that oftentimes strains to work but, on the whole, Deep Cover is engaging, thoughtful and inventive.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
10/31/07
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

It's an unsettling yet compelling blend, and probably one you don't want to think about too much.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
10/31/07
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Convoluted and mostly unconvincing as a portrait of the drug underworld, Deep Cover [based on a story by Michael Tolkin] still carries some resonance due to its vivid portrait of societal decay and a heavyweight performance by Larry Fishburne.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
10/31/07
Variety Staff
Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

What emerges is a powerhouse thriller full of surprises, original touches, and rare political lucidity, including an impressive performance by Jeff Goldblum.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
10/31/07
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader

Laurence Fishburne haunts this movie with his deep set fiercely intense glaring eyes.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Brad Laidman
Brad Laidman
Film Threat

No review available.

comment Comment
07/12/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Deep Cover eventually degenerates into so much gratuitous violence that 'kill' sounds like the most-used verb in the screenplay's last stages.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
05/20/03
Janet Maslin
Janet Maslin
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/08/02
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Deep Cover was probably conceived as a quickie crime film, but thanks to Fishburne's and Goldblum's performances, it became much more.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix

Too much grit, not enough Plot.

comment Comment
09/18/02
Clint Morris
Clint Morris
Moviehole

No review available.

comment Comment
09/14/02
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

A tough, violent crime drama that pulls no punches.

comment Comment
08/12/02
Robin Clifford
Robin Clifford
Reeling Reviews

A truly entertaining little crime thriller. Fishburne and Goldblum are great together.

comment Comment
07/25/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

Rather than ride the easy cynicism of the script, by Michael Tolkin and Henry Bean, Fishburne illuminates his character's moral struggle.

Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
06/06/01
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone

third-rate blaxploitation picture for the '90s, it aims to be street-tough and an admonishment against drugs. It manages to be neither.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

Larry Fishburne is clearly a star of the future, but Deep Cover won't be the vehicle.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Richard Harrington
Richard Harrington
Washington Post

What sets Deep Cover apart is its sense of good and evil, the way it has the Fishburne character agonize over the moral decisions he has to make.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 19 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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